
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 29, 1994                   TAG: 9403290156
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE VALLEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Ice and snow forced people off the roads and into buses last month, enabling Valley Metro to set a record for the average number of weekday riders.

``The bad weather had something to do with it,'' said Kathy Pruitt, company spokeswoman. ``Some drivers were afraid to take their cars on the road.''

Valley Metro usually enjoys small monthly increases, but nothing like the 12 percent jump to 5,682 from 5,065 in January, a 6 percent gain from 5,359 a year ago. It was Valley Metro's best performance since the Roanoke Times & World-News began tracking economic indicators in September 1983.

by CNB